Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Tag: retro

Donkey Kong Bonanza Brings Back Some Memories

Posted on by Viljami

Playing Donkey Kong Bonanza just a moment ago brought some memories to my mind. I think this game is the first good game for this new Nintendo gaming console Switch 2. It definitely showcases what the console has to offer. I really enjoy the graphics and the whole gameplay.

Its been over 30 years since I got to play my Sega Mega Drive for the first time. I think the year was 1993. I used to play my Mega Drive for a while before I made my way to school in the morning. I only had a short way to my school and I usually went there by bike. So, I had about thirty minutes to play Sonic The Hedgehog before meeting my pals at our school and starting my then a bit short day in school. Those were the days!

Sega Mega Drive was my first gaming console. Earlier I had already played some games on our family’s personal computer. The computer had MS-DOS as an operating system. I remember many cool titles that I played. Some of them were a bit shorter and some took many hours to complete. Playing Sega Mega Drive was actually something that you couldn’t directly compare to what our PC had to offer.

One huge factor was the way that games on Mega Drive were played. With this console you only had to insert the game cartridge and start to control the character with the controller included. You did have to adjust some settings. You could even take another controller and give it to a friend so you could play together. Mega Drive offered support for two controllers. There was some kind of an adapter of sort that you could plug in to expand the multiplayer capabilities. We of course didn’t have any way to play in any kind of a network back then.

Sonic The Hedgehog was released for Mega Drive in 1991. Mega Drive had been in the markets for several years. Now it was time to change the strategy. Nintendo and NES had already an icon or a mascot – Super Mario. Sonic quickly became the character that represented this console. We have seen similar strategies from the era of Sony PlayStation in the form of Crash Bandicoot. You can also think that Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Bananza now showcases Switch 2’s power in a similar way.

I really like Donkey Kong Bananza. I really like Switch 2. I have been playing some Switch 1 titles also. It is nice to have a backwards compatibility like this. Since I have bought Switch 2 I have bought some Switch 2 games but also some Swithc 1 titles. I am really waiting for Terminator 2D – No Fate to get released. The release day was actually just recently pushed to end of Octoberw while it was earlier set to be released already in September. There is also a new NBA2K game coming in the beginning of September. I am not sure about if I am going to invest in a new basketball game. It just seems that the game is modified only slightly. It takes a lot of time to complete a modern NBA2K game. I have bought NBA2K every year for at least five years in a row so it might be a good time to take a break in that matter.

There’s some games getting released for Switch 2 later this year. The next Metroid Prime game is getting released in this years December. We are also going to see Hades II also for Switch 2 in December. I already have Hades II for my current Windows PC. I am still looking for a good moment to buy also a new personal computer that would utilize the new Windows 11 operating system. You might have heard that Windows 10 is going to be somewhat unsupported in October. There is also an option to keep using Windows 10 by paying a small amount of money to keep the system supported. It is also possible to install Linux. I am thinking about this and I haven’t yet made my final decision about this issue. We will see how things are going to begin shaping in a moment. See you again soon!

The Push for New Hardware

Posted on by Viljami

What is the push for new hardware and where does this kind of thinking fit? What are some options for getting your hands on the latest hardware? Are you playing video games with older hardware? Where does emulating retro video game consoles fit right in this discussion? These are only some of the questions I am trying to answer in this latest blog post. I am happy to have you on board!

I was recently playing some PS2 games on my current PC setup. I started thinking about some modern games and how were they compared to these old PS2 games. There is just some deeper appeal in these so called retro games for me. I have also played lots of Xbox 360 games recently. One of these Xbox 360 games is Dirt 3 and there are many other good games that you can actually play on the latest Xbox, Xbox Series X, through its backwards compatibility.

For me the golden era of video games was, or is, the 2000s. Back in the day we had consoles like PS2, PS3, original Xbox and also Xbox 360 along with GameCube. Sega Dreamcast has to be also mentioned when it comes to the hardware of this golden era of gaming. There are also ways to run these games on emulators. So even after the hardware might be broken, that being the console or the actual game disc, you can still get back to playing games from this era. Today we are getting lots of power out of PCs. It is today possible to emulate Xbox 360 and PS3 hardware with a decently powerful, new, PC.

Why are we getting pushed for new hardware? This is a very good question. The hardware manufacturers have to sell some products. After all there would be no manufacturers if there weren’t new hardware products for them to sell. Also the software is getting sold mainly for same reasons. Without mentioning any specific company we can say that there are some facets that get profit from pushing the new hardware to us consumers that also are the gamers in this world.

What is enough when it comes to performance? We could have a device that would be roughly as powerful as a PS4 and that would actually provide all the power needed to run modern video games. One particular gaming console that has made a difference when it comes to performance was the first Nintendo Switch. in the recent years it couldn’t stand up against its greatest competitors.

Do we need new hardware so badly? For me the answer is actually no. You can have a ten year old PC that you would connect to a screen of any type and play the best games from 2000s with a brand new Xbox One controller and enjoy the golden era, according to my viewpoint, with this kind of a setup. We have some hobbyist that actually like to play with and fix old computers. Also many old PC games cannot be run with a modern PC at all. You might need an older operating system and also some old drivers for older hardware like graphics processing unit or an audio device.

I have had some tough luck with my older video game hardware. I have broken two PS2s, one original Xbox and also one Xbox 360 console. The main issue I’ve had was that the console isn’t somehow able to read the game disc anymore. This has everything to do with dust. Also original Xbox has some electrical components, condensers, actually, that are very sensitive to wearing down when time progresses. So, for me it is way more easier to just abandon a broken down console and turn to some emulation on a suitable PC.

These were some thoughts that I had in mind. They were appearing to me as I was playing some PS2 games as I told you in the beginning of this blog post. I ahve to say that I was actually playing Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit 2, but I just couldn’t find the original game to take a photo of. So you are going to have to be content with another great PS2 racing game Burnout 3 – Takedown. I actually do play my PS2 emulator games with this fresh Xbox Series S/X compatible game pad. It is very handy as a controller on a Windows PC.

Where to go next with this hobby of collecting retro games?

Posted on by Viljami

I have been collecting retro games for what…like 8 years or so. I do have been playing video games for much longer, but in 2017 I remmeber starting to plan about a television setup that would include at least 8 consoles and our 32 inch Full HD television. We moved in 2018 and that was when I actualized this plan.

It all started with collecting retro games when I decided to get my Sega Mega Drive back from my parents apartment. I also at same time got an old PlayStation 2 from my wife’s parents. I also bought an original Xbox, PlayStation 1 and also Xbox 360. This was the beginning of my retro gaming hobby.

I have been buying physical games like Super Mario Bros 3 for NES and many others like this that I do remember from the past years. This makes me to have these nostalgic feelings and also makes me to remember better where we actually came from when it comes to playing video games.

My setup has changed a bit over time. I have now a 55 inch 4K television. Also I have had to move some consoles to storage because they broke down. I have also bought more consoles. The latest device I bought was Raspberry Pi 5. So, I do play nowadays also emulated video games. But I think there is something special about old physical games and consoles. They just have this unique feel. And they can be valuable in many ways in the future.

I am moving today more towards emulation. I have spent a lot of money in video games all in all. It was a bit of a disappointment for me that my PS2, original Xbox and also my Xbox 360 all broke down and since I am not so good at electronical repairing I cannot myself repair them. This is the matter that matters the most when we are talking about this move towards emulation.

Now, copying games isn’t currently legal. At the same time we are not getting to play all retro games, these old games, that nobody seems to think that they would have value. This is something that I would like for every hobbyist and also professional in the field to think about.

I do have my newer consoles: Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch and also PS4. I am excited at this moment about new releases and some remakes. I am waiting for Switch 2 and I think we are getting some more information about it in the beginning of April this year (2025). I didn’t buy a Steam Deck. At least I didn’t do so yet. I am going to buy a new desktop PC because my current PC is old and isn’t going to be compatible with Windows 11. I have considered moving to Linux but I think I am not going to actually move on to it.